Car-coupling



(No Model.) I

0.. F. SPRINGER. GAR OOUPLING.

No. 599,977. Patented Mar. 1,1898.

I Ly v v mm: 6 oi I, fgk er To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFTON F. SPRINGER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ilk-K. HEINSOHN,

OF MUNCIE, INDIANA. I

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,977, dated March 1, 1898.

Application filed March 11; 1897.

Be it known that I, CLIFTON F. SPRINGER, residing at Chicago, in 'the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to car-couplings of the vertical-plane type; and my object is to produce a coupling embodying improvements and advantages over those now in general use. Among other advantages I provide means whereby, when in use, the coupling is absolutely prevented from becoming unlocked, and I also provide novel means of removably connecting the lifting-pin to the lock.

Other novel and advantageous features of construction will be apparent from the description hereinafter given.

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional plan view on line 1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a sectional elevation on line 2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a detail View of the tail of the knuckle, showing the concavity therein.

One of the practical difficulties often experienced in a car-coupler of the vertical-plane type is the accidental unlocking of the coupler when in use, which is a source of great danger and inconvenience. This uncoupling is caused by the pressure or draft of the knuckle upon the lock, raising the latter by slow degrees until it has fully cleared the tail of the knuckle.

One of the main objects of my present invention is to provide a peculiarly-constructed knuckle and a peculiarly-shaped lock for this type of coupler by which the above objection is overcome.

The draw-head A is substantially of the usual and well-known construction and has pivoted therein in the ordinary manner a knuckle B. The tail of the knuckle is provided at its end and upon its outer surface or face with a concavity b, which is adapted to receive a peculiarly-shaped lock, the lock and knuckle being so constructed with relation to each other that when coupled the coupler cannot be accidentally uncoupled. The preferable location and contour of the concavity 5o are shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3.

The lock C is substantially dumb-bell or Serial No. 626,943. (No model.)

' double-ball shaped in cross-section, one of the balls 0 forming the bearing for the lock. and received into a socket a in the guard-arm of the draw-head. In order to keep the ball 0 within the socket after insertion, I employ a retaining-block D, which is secured at the desired place upon the bottomof the drawhead by a bolt d. This block is beveled or curved at itsinner side to correspond to the shape of the ball and to provide an accommodating bearing for such ball in the operation of the lock. The other ball-shaped portion 0' forms the lock device proper, and its front concave face a is adapted to be received by the concave recess 1) upon the tail of .the knuckle, whereby the bearing of the knuckle upon the look when in actual use is broad and extended and partially encompasses the lock and grasps the same.

The pressure or draft of the knuckle against the lock is in a horizontal plane or substantially at the central axis. As the knuckle presses against the lock these parts become securely locked together against any possibility of accidental uncoupling, owing to the peculiar construction of the lock and the knuckle. Consequently there is no possibility of the pressure of the knuckle raising the lock, and thereby uncoupling the coupler, which is at present a source of much annoyance as well as danger.

The pin or lock lifter E is removably secured to the lock-body in the following manner: The upper part of the lock is cored out to form-a recess F and channel F, as shown in the drawings. A slot f communicates with the channel, forming a T-shaped opening in the body of the look, as shown more particularly in Fig. 1. The pin or lifter E, which is provided with ri ght-angled lugs or projections e, is inserted into the recess F of the lock, which has been raised for this purpose, and then moved along the channel F, which is of size to accommodate the end thus enlarged by the lugs, while the portion of the pin or lifter above the lugs slides through the slot. 1 The cap G, fastened to or forming an integral part of the upper end of the pin, holds the latter in place and prevents its removal from the lock.

By the use of my invention I obtain a coupler which is simple in its construction and 0peration and which embodies practical features whereby many disadvantages experienced in practice are now overcome.

Although I have described more or less precise forms and details of construction, I do not intend to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I contemplate changes in form, the proportion of parts, and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or render expedient without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. In a car-coupler, the combination of a draw-head, a knuckle pivoted therein and having a cup-shaped recess upon the outer surface of its tail and a lock having a rounded end adapted to be received by the recess of the knuckle, said look when in locked position lying transversely of the draw-head and in substantially the same horizontal plane as the knuckle.

2. In a car-coupler, the combination of a draw-head, a knuckle pivoted therein and having a concavity upon the outer surface of its tail, the center or axis of the concavity being substantially in the same horizontal plane as the central axis of the lock, and a lock having a curved or convex face adjacent to the concavity of the knuckle and adapted to be received by the latter.

3. In a car-coupler, the combination of a draw-head, a knuckle pivoted therein and having the end of its tail cut away to form a concavity whose center is on a plane substantially at right angles to the vertical plane of the knuckle and a lock having a convex end adapted to fit into such concavity, said look when in locked position lying transversely of the draw-head and in substantially the same horizontal plane as the knuckle.

4. In a car-coupler, the combination of a draw-head, a knuckle pivoted therein and having a cup-shaped recess in the tail thereof, and a lock having a ball-shaped end adapted to fit into the cup-shaped recess, the center of the recess being in a horizontal plane substantially at right angles to the knuckle, and said lock when in locked position lying transversely of the draw-head and in substantially the same horizontal plane as the 6. In a car-coupler, a lock substantially double-ball shaped, one of the balls forming a bearing for the lock and the other ball forming the locking means proper,

7. In a car-coupler, a knuckle having a concavity in the tail thereof, the concavity being substantially on the arc of a circle drawn from a center located in a horizontal plane passing through the center of the tail of the knuckle.

8. In a car-coupler, a knuckle having a concavity in the tail thereof, in combination with a lock substantially double-ball shaped, one of the balls adapted to be received by the concavity in the knuckle.

9. In a car-coupler, the combination ofa draw-head, a knuckle pivoted therein, a lock having a ball at one end, the draw-head having a socket to receive the ball, and a retaining device for holding the ball in the socket comprising a removable block secured to the draw-head and Within the interior thereof for preventing the Withdrawal of the ball.

10. In a car-coupler the combination of a draw-head, a knuckle pivoted therein, a lock having a ball at one end, the draw-head having a socket to receive the ball and a retaining device for holding the ball in the socket comprising a removable block D and a bolt D for securing the block in place on the drawhead in proximity to the ball to prevent the Withdrawal from the socket.

11. In a car-coupler, the combination of a draw-head A, a knuckle B having at the end of the tail thereof a concavity b and a lock 0 substantially dumb-bell or double-ball shaped in cross-section, one of the balls forming a bearing for the lock and the other ball fitting into the concavity of the knuckle to form a lock therefor.

CLIFTON F. SPRINGER.

Vitnesses:

J. N. I-IANsoN, SAMUEL E. HIBBEN. 

